


July 3rd, 2016

by IMAgentMI



Category: Red vs. Blue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 22:57:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7380838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IMAgentMI/pseuds/IMAgentMI





	July 3rd, 2016

Carolina spun around as the door to her quarters slammed open.  At her shoulder, Epsilon burst into light.

Tucker stood in the doorway and even in full armour Carolina could sense his distress.  “There’s something wrong with Wash!”

Carolina and Epsilon glanced at each other, the merest flick of the eyes.  “Something...new?”  Epsilon must have been able to feel Tucker’s glare and raised his hands defensively.  “Hey, it’s a fair question.”

“He’s not making any sense!”  Tucker rocked from side to side - he would have been pacing had he not been too stressed to manage a full step in either direction.  “I was late for the team workout, and ran into him in the hallway.  He didn’t chew me out!  I could barely understand him - it sounded as though he said that he was calling an official cheat day!  For morale, he said!  It was like he was speaking in fucking tongues!”

Epsilon turned to Carolina.  “He didn’t say anything to you about this?”  It wasn’t exactly a question - he knew the answer.  But the day was taking an unnatural turn.

Carolina shook her head.  “I haven’t even seen him today.”

There was the sound of heavy footsteps and all three turned to see Grif stagger into the doorway.  He bent double trying to catch his breath, one hand braced on his thigh, the other feebly waving a small object in their direction.  “There’s...something wrong...with Wash…”  Tucker came over to take whatever Grif was holding, and Grif knocked his hand away, still trying to get his breath back.   


“Saw Wash in the hallway.  He said he had been looking for me, that he had something for me.  This.”  He held the object up, every line of his body reading  _ this is mine, only mine, look and do not touch. _  It was a chocolate bar.  He looked desperately at Carolina.  “Do you think it’s poisoned?”

Carolina looked stunned.  “Why the hell would you think he’d poison it?”

“It seems more likely than Wash just handing out candy.  Don’t try to tell me it isn’t.”

Carolina opened her mouth and closed it again.  She turned ever so slightly towards her left shoulder.  “Epsilon?”

“On it.”  He vanished.  Almost immediately his disembodied voice rang out.  “Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s… singing.”  Tucker covered his mouth, while Grif clutched the chocolate bar to his chest.

“We need a scan of his current medical condition, with focus on - “

“Already have results.  His pulse is twenty percent slower than his previous resting heart rate on record, blood pressure lower--”

“Any sign that he may have been drugged?  Brain damage?  Shock?”

“Someone is jumping on the panic wagon.  Checking his vital sign logs for the past twenty four hours…”

Silence dragged on.  “Epsilon?”

“I need to double check something.”  A ripple of dread passed through the room.  Epsilon never needed to double check anything.  The next few seconds seemed impossibly long, but Epsilon finally reappeared.  “Agent Washington laid down at exactly 2204 last night and transitioned from NREM stage one to stage two in four minutes and twenty seven seconds.  He completed his first cycle, including REM stage, within ninety four minutes, and experienced five complete cycles overnight.  His final cycle ended at 0553.”

“What...exactly does that mean?”  Tucker’s face had a grey tinge to it, and Grif stared at his chocolate bar as though he was about to burst into tears.  

“It means,” said Carolina, “that Wash got a full night’s sleep.  He’s just in a good mood.”

A stunned silence filled the room.  “That’s it?”  Tucker’s eyes looked like they were in danger of falling out of his head.  “One night’s sleep and he turns into...that?”  

Grif pushed past him, approached Carolina, his eyes tight, clutching his hands together as though in supplication.  “I’ve got just one question.”  When Carolina nodded, he swallowed hard and held out his candy bar.

“Can I eat this thing or not?”


End file.
